Refrigeration apparatus



Aug. 5, 1947.

WITNESSES:

w. B. ANDERSON ETAL REFRIGERATION APPARATUS Filed March 10, 1945 FIG. I

3 Sheets-Sheet 1 1 ATTORNEY Aug. 5, 1947. w. a. ANDERSON ET AL REFRIGERATION APPARATUS Filed March 10, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 2

INVENTOR WITNESSES:

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Aug. 5, 1947. i w. B. ANDERSON ETAL 2,425,021

REFRIGERATION APPARATUS Filed March 10, 1944 s Sheets-Sheet s WITNESSES: INVENTOR a 7 ////i/fl 6 finale/ 04 Patented Aug. 5, 1947 oFric-s REFRIGERATION APPARATUS William B. Anderson, Detroit, Mich, and Arthur W.'Haley, Longmeadow, and Anthony H.'Kelly, Springfield, Mass., assignors to Westinghouse Electric Corporation, East Pittsburgh, Pa., a

\ corporation of Pennsylvania Application March 10, 1944, Serial No. 525,908 7 Claims. (Cl. 62-103) In this type of refrigerator, it is desirable to 2 provide two or more zones which are maintained at diiferent temperatures, sothat different articles of food may be frozen or chilled to varying degrees according to their respective degrees of perishability or the varying lengths of time for which it is desired to keep such articles.

It is, therefore, a still further object of this invention to produce an evaporator for a domestic refrigerator which is so constructed and arranged as to provide adequate facilities for making ice cubes or freezing foods and beverages, for storing products purchased in the frozen state, for adequately chilling and preserving perishable articles such as meat and the like, and for generally refrigerating the entire food compartment.

A still further object of this invention is to produce an evaporator embodying the advantages above mentioned, which will occupy minimum space in the food storage compartment, and which will have maximum storage and refriger-' ating capacity. I

A still further object ofthis invention is to produc an improved tray for collecting and disposing of the moisture resulting from periodic defrosting of the evaporator.

A still further object of this invention is to so construct and arrange said tray, that in' addition to collecting defrost water, said tray also coacts with the evaporator to regulate the tem-' perature in different zones of the food storage space of the refrigerator.

These and other objects are effected by the invention as will be apparent from the following description and claims taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this application, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a domestic refrigerator embodying this invention;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary front elevational view showing a modified form of construction; and

.Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing another modified form of invention.

Referring to the drawings in detail, and more particularly to Fig. 1, there is shown a domestic refrigerator including an upper food storage com-- partment 10 and a lower machinery compartment l2. The food compartment H) has a bottom wall M, a top wall l6, side walls I 8 and a rear wall '20. The food compartment In is provided with an access opening which is normally closed by a door 22'. One or more adjustable shelves 24 and a covered hydrator or vegetable storage bin 26 may be provided in the food compartment Ill.

Inthe machinery compartment i2 is a conventional motor-compressor unit 28 and a condenser 30. The motor-compressor unit operates in response to temperature conditions in the food compartment ID or the evaporator or cooling unit in said compartment, in the usual way. The vapor-' ized refrigerant enters the low pressure side of the motor compressor 28 through a pipe 32 and the liquefied refrigerant flows out of the condenser 30 through a capillary tube 34, as shown by the arrows in Fig. 1. The structure thus far described is conventional and forms no part of the present invention. In order to carry out the objects of this invention, we provide an evaporator generally designated by the numeral 36 and best seen in Fig. 3, and a tray 38 for collecting the water resulting from periodic defrosting of the evaporator. The evaporator 36 and the tray 38 are so designed and arranged with respect to each other and with respect to the food compartment It that, in addition to their usual functions, they coact to increase the efliciency of the refrigerator and to improve the temperature. distribution throughout the food compartment.

As will be seen from Fig. 3, the; evaporator 35, the structure of which will be later more fully described, comprises a fiat or shelf-like member 40,- and a pendant U-shaped structure having a bottom wall 42, side walls 44 and a rear wall 46,

j which, with the corresponding portion of the Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line II--1I of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of an evaporator or cooling unit embodying this invention;

'shelf 40, form a compartment 41.

The shelf 40 is spaced from the top wall l6 of the food compartment ill to provide room for freezing trays 48 which rest upon the shelf 40 Since the trays 48 rest upon the shelf 40 and since the compartment 41 is made up entirely of portions of the evaporator, the trays 348 ,and the compartment 41 are always at avery low temperature and are therefore suitable for freezing foods or beverages the frozen state and maintaining the same at a temperature well below the freezing point of water. The front of the compartment 41 is closed by'a door 56 which extends upwardly to close the space between the shelf 48 and the top wall i6 of the compartment, as clearly shown in Fig. 2.

Adjacent the compartment 41, and below the shelf 48. is a pan or container 52 which, being close to but not in direct contact with any portion of the evaporator 36, is suitable for storing perishable articles of food at approximately the freezing point of water so as to be preserved against'spoilage without being hard frozen. For example, if meat is kept anywhere in the food compartment to where the temperature is somewhere above 32 F., there is danger of spoilage.-

If the meat is kept in the compartment 41, it is frozen very hard and must be thawed out before it can be used. In the pan 52 the meat can be kept safely for a considerable time without being frozen hard, so that it is always ready for instant use. The manner in which this is accomplished will be hereinafter more fully explained.

The evaporator 36 is suitably supported by brackets, straps or the like 54 which are carried by or suitably securedto the cabinet structure and the pan 52 is slidably supported on rails or tracks 56 also suitably secured to or carried ,by the cabinet or evaporator structure.

Below the compartment 41 and the pan 52 is the tray 38 which is slidable upon tracks or rails 66. The tray 38 serves as a receptacle for the water produced by periodical defrosting of the evaporator. A pipe 62 may be used to conduct the water collecting in the tray 38 into a recep-' tacle or other point of disposal (not shown).

compartment 41. The tube 68 is shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3 and in solid lines in Fig.2. The

outlet end of the tube 68 is bent down, as at 10, and leads to a central manifold 12 carried by, and extending longitudinally, from the front to the rear, of the bottom wall 42 of the compartment 41. The bottom wall 62 and side walls 44 of the compartment 41 are preferably made of two sheets of metal, one, or both of which is provided with grooves forming passages 14. The passages 14 communicatewith the manifold 12 and with oppositely-disposed headers 16 and 18 near the upper edges ofthe side walls 46 of the compartment 41. The refrigerant thus flows .through the tubes 64 and 68 in the top wall 40 and rear wall, and through the passages 14 and the bottomwall 42 and the side walls 64 of the compartment 41. One passage 80' by-passes the manifold 12 and connects the header 16 directly to the header 18. The vaporized refrigerant from the headers 16 and 18 is drawn to the low pressure side of the compressor through the pipe 32.

While we have shown and described our form of evaporator, it is to be understood that, broadly,

the present invention is not limited to the particular paths of flow of refrigerant through the various portions of the evaporator as described. In order to maintain the temperature of the pan 4 52 at about 32 F., whena temperature of between 38 F. and 40 F, is maintained in the food compartment l0, and in order to improve air circulation to obtain more nearly uniform and adequate temperature throughout the food compartment,

the tray 38 is provided with an opening 86 which registers with the bottom of the pan 52. The tray 38 is spaced from the evaporator 36 and pan 52, and the tray 38, evaporator 36, pan 52 and ice trays 48 are all spaced from the side, rear and to walls of the food compartment.

The opening 86 allows air from the upper portion of the food compartment ill to contact the bottom of the pan 52. The resulting heat exchange cools the air and causes it to circulate in a path diagrammatically illustrated by the arrows 88 in Fig. 1. The size of the opening 66 and the spacing of the tray 38 from the bottom of the pan 52 and the spacing of the pan 52 from the evaporator 36 and the walls of the food compartment are such that the interior of the pan 52 is maintained at about 32"v F., while the temperature in the food compartment is maintained at between approximately 38 F. and approximately 40 F.

The spacing of the evaporator 36, freezing trays 48, pan 52 and defrost tray 38 from each other and from the walls of the food compartment produces air circulation which is approximately and diagrammatically illustrated by arrows in Figs. 1 and 2. Since the rear portion of the food compartment is generally cooler than the front portion thereof, the air rises along the front portion of the food compartment, is cooled by contact with the evaporator, and flows towards the back of the food compartment and downwardly along the rear wall of the food compartment. Also due to the arrangement of the evaporator 36 and pan 52, the air in the vicinity of the evaporator 36 is cooled more than the air in the vicinity of the pan 52 so that the flow of air is downwardly at the left-hand or evaporator side of the food compartment and upwardly at the righthand or pan 52 side of the food compartment. Other subsidiary currents of air are produced, but it is not believed necessary to encumber this appli cation with an excessive number of drawings to illustrate all possible paths of circulation. It is believed suflicient to point out that by virtue of food products purchased in the frozen state at a subfreezlng temperature, while the pan 52 provides space for storing food products at a temperature at which they can be preserved for a con-- siderable time, but at which they are ready for instant use such as 32 F. more or less.

In Fig. 4. there is shown a modified form of construction which is identical with that shown in Fig. 1, except that the opening 86 in the tray 38 is omitted and the tray extends solidly across the bottom of the evaporator 36 and the pan 52. The omission of the opening 86 eliminates the air circulation designated by the arrows 88 in Fig. l and produces an air current from front to back of the food compartment between the evaporator 36 and pan 52, as designated by the arrows 90. This The pan 9% slopes from right to left and its,

inner end as is deflected downwardly to produce a pendent flange which overhangs the right-hand portion of the pan $2. In this way, when the evaporator is defrosted, water collecting on the tray 94 drips into the tray 82 to be disposed of.

If desired, the pan 9d may be omitted altogether and the cover of the meat keeper of can be provided with a pendent extension which will overhang the pan 92, and the cover of the meat keeper can be so formed or mounted as to slope in the direction as the pan 92. In this construction, there is no obstruction to air circulation beneath the meat keeper or pan 52, so that the air circulates freely as shown by the arrows in Fig. 5.

While the invention has been shown in several forms, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptible of various other changes and modifications without departing from the spirit thereof, and it is desired,

therefore, that only such limitations shall be placed thereupon as are specifically set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is: g

i. In a refrigerator, a food compartment, an evaporator for cooling said compartment, comprising a flat horizontal shelf spaced from the top wall of said food compartment and extending to within a short distance of the walls of said food compartment and a wall structure including a bottom wall, a rear wall and side walls coacting with the underside of a portion of said shelf to form a freezing compartment, means for supporting said evaporator in position, a tray for receiving water resulting from defrosting of said evaporator, means for supporting said tray in position, a pan, means for supporting said pan beneath the remaining portion of said shelf and alongside said freezing compartment, and means for effecting flow of refrigerant through said I evaporator, the outer peripheries of said freezing compartment, said pan and said tray extending to within a short distance from the walls of said the side and rear walls of the food compartment and in which said tray is provided with an opening registering with the bottom of said pan.

3. The structure recited in claim 1 in which 'said evaporator is so constructed and arranged that said refrigerant flows first through said shelf, and then through said rea wall, said bottom and said side walls of said first compartment.

4, The structure recited in claim 1 together with a door for closing the open end of said freezing compartment and the space between said horizontal shelf and the top wall of said compartment.

5. In a refrigerator, a food compartment, an evaporator for cooling said compartment comprising, a, fiat horizontal shelf extending to within a. short distance of the walls of said food compartment and spaced from the top wall thereof to form a first compartment for receiving mate-- rial to be frozen, 9. wall structure including a. bottom wall, a rear wall and side walls coacting with the underside of a portion of said shelf to form a second compartment for receiving material to be frozen, means for supporting said evaporator in place, a tray, means for positioning said tray beneath said second compartment, a pan, means for supporting said pan beneath another portion of said shelf, a plate intermediate said pan and the corresponding portion of said shelf, said plate being so constructed and arranged as to shed water resulting from defrosting of the evaporator into said tray, and means for effecting flow of refrigerant through said evaporator.

6. In a refrigerator, a food compartment, an evaporator for cooling said compartment comprising a fiat horizontal shelf spaced from the top wall of said food compartment and extending to within a short distance of the walls of said food compartment, and a wall structure including a bottom wall, a rear wall and side walls coacting with the underside of a portion of said shelf to form a, freezing compartment, means for supporting said evaporator in position, a tray for receiving water resulting from defrosting of said evaporator, means for supporting said tray in position, and means for efiecting' flow of refrigerant through said evaporator, the outer peripheries of said freezing compartment and said tray extending to within a short distance from the walls of said compartment, and said tray being slightly spaced from the bottom of said evaporator.

7. An evaporator for cooling the food compartment of a refrigerator, said evaporator comprising'o, flat, horizontally disposed, shelf-like member adapted to extend substantially across the entire width and depth of said food compartment.

a wall structure including a bottom wall, a rear wall and side walls cooperating with a side of said fiat portion near one end thereof to form a freezins compartment, and means defining a path of now. of refrigerant through said flat portion and said wall structure in series.

WIIJJAM B. ANDERSON. ARTHUR W. HALEY. ANTHONY H. imLLY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

om STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,310,0i2 Smith Feb. 2, 19% 2,7792% Mudiy Get. 21, 1930 2,018,747 Stout Oct, 29, 1935 2,324,931 Johnson July 20, 1943 

